Abnormal development of genital organs in offspring male mice exposed to finasteride during pregnancy

AIM: To investigate the effects of finasteride exposure during pregnancy on the development of reproductive organs in offspring male mice. METHODS: CD-1 mice were treated with finasteride from 0 to 17 d after conception. The development of reproductive organs in the offspring male mice were observed by macroscopy, anatomical analysis and histological staining. The spermatogenesis was analyzed by immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Macroscopic observation showed that fenasteride exposure during pregnancy resulted in external genital malformations in the offspring male mice, which were manifested as incomplete scrotal fusion and penile malformation. In addition, the anogenital distance was significantly shortened (P<0.01). Histological staining showed that the length of penis at each stage was significantly shortened (P<0.01), the density of seminiferous tubules in testis and mature spermatozoa in seminiferous tubules were significantly decreased (P<0.01), and the luminal space size of seminiferous tubules and interstitial space size of testises were significantly increased (P<0.01). Immunofluorescence staining showed that the densities of Sertoli cells, Leydig cells and spermatogonium in testis were significantly reduced (P<0.01), and the fluorescence intensity of caspase-3 in spermatogenic tubule cells was increased significantly (P<0.01). However, the fluorescence intensity of Ki67 and desert hedgehog (Dhh) was decreased significantly (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Finasteride exposure during pregnancy results in abnormal development of reproductive organs in offspring male mice and affects spermatogenesis.     

Hepatitis E virus in Cuba: A cross-sectional serological and virological study in pigs and people occupationally exposed to pigs

Surveillance of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in risk groups is an important strategy to monitor its circulation pattern and to timely detect changes thereof. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of HEV infections in pigs and humans from different regions of the country, to identify risk factors for increasing anti-HEV IgG prevalence and to characterize HEV strains. The presence of anti-HEV antibodies was assessed by commercial ELISA in serum samples from the general population, farm and slaughterhouse employees, as well as pigs sampled in the three regions of Cuba from February to September 2016. Overall, individuals with occupational exposure to swine or swine products (70/248, 28.2%) were 4 times more likely to be seropositive compared to the general population (25/285, 8.7%; OR: 4.18; p < .001). Within the risk group, risk factors included age, number of years working in a professional activity with direct exposure to swine, geographic region and distance between residence and closest professional swine setting, while wearing gloves had a protective effect. Prevalence of total anti-HEV antibodies in swine was 88.2% (165/187) and HEV RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR in 9.2% (16/173) swine stools. All HEV strains sequenced clustered within genotype 3. Some strains clearly belonged to subtype 3a, while another group of strains was related with subtypes 3b and 3 k but partial HEV sequences did not allow unequivocal subtype assignment. These findings suggest that the high HEV exposure in Cuban individuals with swine-related occupations could be due to enzootic HEV in certain regions, direct contact with infectious animals or their products as well as environmental contamination.     

Recurrent Temporary Paralysis Reported After Human Rabies Post‐Exposure Prophylaxis

Adverse events can occur after rabies post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and linkage to causality is often difficult to determine. We report a case of recurrent temporary paralysis that began immediately after the initiation of rabies PEP in a man exposed to a bat. The recurrent temporary paralysis first occurred in the patient after his initial dose and then again after day 3 of his rabies PEP. The PEP was terminated prior to a serologic response. The patient continued to experience numerous discrete episodes of temporary paralysis for over two years.     

Extractives relating to heartwood color changes in sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) by a combination of smoke-heating and UV radiation exposure

 Sugi green logs with red or black heartwood were smoke-heated, and the changes in the color of the heartwood after ultraviolet (UV) (λ = 365 nm) radiation exposure were then observed. After UV radiation exposure, the redness and yellowness increased in both the red and black heartwoods, whereas the brightness decreased. In the black heartwood, the resulting color turned from yellowish white to reddish brown. Reddening in black heartwood after exposure to a combination of smoke heating and UV radiation is thought to be due to a decrease in brightness and an increase in both redness and yellowness. However, the degree of change in heartwood color by UV radiation exposure was not greatly affected by smoke-heating treatments of various lengths. When methanol extracts were fractionated and exposed to UV radiation, the yellowness increased in the n-hexane-soluble portion and the redness increased in the acetone-soluble fractions from the n-hexane-insoluble portion. These results suggest that the n-hexane-soluble fraction contains the substances that allow heartwood color to change to yellow after UV radiation exposure, and the acetone-soluble-fraction from the n-hexane-insoluble portion contains the substances that allow it to change to red. Received: November 14, 2001 / Accepted: June 3, 2002 Acknowledgment This research was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. This study was presented in part at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 2001 Correspondence to:N. Yoshizawa     

Wood Moisture Content Measurement by X-Ray Exposure Method

lNTRoDUCTIONTheon-sitcnon-dcstructit'cmcasurcl11cntofu.oodmoisbocontcntattTactsgrcatintcrcsts.Itpla3'simpor-tantpartsinthescicntificrcscarchsucl1asonthchcatandmasstransportproccssesint"ooddri'ing.thcim-pregnationofliquidinxt'ood.thcmoisturccontcntdistri-b…     

Root exposure effects on water relations of Eucalyptus nitens nursery stock

Bare-root seedlings of Eucalyptus nitens frequently exhibit water stress after planting resulting in leaf lamina damage and reduced leaf area. Two trials examined effects of root exposure and desiccation between lifting and transplanting on post-planting water relations, leaf retention and root growth. Plants with roots exposed on a glasshouse bench initially lost water rapidly. In one trial ₁ declined to around –2.0 MPa within 2.5 h, after which there was no further change with exposure up to 7.5 h. In the second trial, the initial decline in ₁ was more rapid, reaching below –2.0 MPa in the first hour, before remaining stable with continuing exposure up to 4.5 h. A further decline then continued to –4.0 MPa after 7.5 h.Two days after transplanting into potting mix, day – time leaf water potentials in all desiccation treatments had declined to near –2.0 MPa. Hydraulic resistivity, measured as leaf specific resistivity two days after transplanting, increased following exposure for greater than 2.5 h, but there was no further increase between 4.5 and 7.5 h. The increase in resistivity corresponded with leaf water potential declining below –2.0 MPa during exposure.In the second trial, increasing root exposure time resulted in decreased leaf area due to lamina necrosis. Root growth, measured three weeks after planting, was also reduced. and there was also a positive curvilinear relationship between leaf area remaining at three weeks and new root growth. The results are discussed in terms of hardiness and the management of E. nitens seedlings from nursery to plantation.     

河南桧柏嫩枝“全光雾”扦插育苗试验初报

河南桧柏采用嫩枝“全光雾”扦插育苗，试验表明：对难生根珍贵树种用此法育苗可大大缩短育苗周期，提高苗木产量和质量，应大力推广此种育苗方法。     

广州地区芥蓝、菜心和普通白菜中丙环唑和矮壮素残留及膳食暴露风险

为探明广州地区丙环唑和矮壮素在叶菜的残留以及膳食暴露风险情况,对2016年第2季度广州市9个区农贸市场和超市的芥蓝、菜心和普通白菜样品中丙环唑和矮壮素残留水平进行了分析。应用点评估和基于@Risk评估软件的概率评估方法 ,对这3种蔬菜中丙环唑和矮壮素残留膳食暴露风险进行了研究。结果显示,芥蓝、菜心、普通白菜中丙环唑残留均值为0.162 8~0.002 8 mg/kg,最高为芥蓝,与菜心和普通白菜差异显著,平均检出率为100%~70.25%,最高为芥蓝,与普通白菜差异显著。矮壮素残留平均值为0.010 9~0.001 0 mg/kg,最高为菜心,三者间差异不显著,平均检出率为14.99%~8.46%,最高为芥蓝,三者间差异不显著。通过膳食摄入3种蔬菜,丙环唑残留暴露急性风险熵为1.81~7.93,99%人群暴露慢性风险熵为1.02~25.03,0.1%人群存在芥蓝丙环唑膳食暴露慢性风险;矮壮素残留暴露急性风险熵为55.14~62.26,100%人群暴露慢性风险熵为3.26~8.11。3种蔬菜中丙环唑和矮壮素残留膳食暴露风险在可接受范围。     

南方某矿区土壤镉污染及作物健康风险研究

为了评估南方某县土壤镉污染情况、量化当地不同作物镉含量并对不同人群健康风险进行评估，从该县3个镇采集135份土壤样本，入户采集128份自产大米样本，种植区采集7份脐橙样本，对其中镉含量进行测定。结果表明，3镇采集土壤样品镉超标率分别为41.67%、28.81%和21.62%，地累积指数计算得到该县68.9%的土壤样本受到不同程度的镉污染，大米镉含量超标率分别为48.57%、34.48%、8.82%。而脐橙果肉样品中镉含量较低，远低于0.05 mg·kg^-1。计算不同作物的危害商数（HQ）可得，食用自产大米的危害商数（HQ）值普遍大于1，风险较高，而食用脐橙果肉产生的健康风险低。种植脐橙具有一定的经济效益，且当地具有脐橙适宜的生长条件，故考虑在重污染区种植脐橙取代种植水稻。